SFH Landlords: What Rental Listing Platform Do You Use Most?

Question

I experienced a scam on a platform recently and is wondering what platform you find most reliable to bring you qualified tenants your are not settling for?

Kenneth Garrett · Answer

Account Closed

I use Zillow which also gets you on Trulia and Hot Pads. Even though Zillow charges now in reality it’s a small amount. Craigslist in my opinion is the lowest quality of success. To many people calling wanting to buy your property mostly other investors. Scams can happen on any platform, but I find Zillow to be the best. I don’t generally use signs. I feel it lets the world now your property is vacant. I have never found a tenant in my area when I have put signs.

Chad Lundquist · Answer

@Adam Martin

I used to use Cozy, but wasn't very happy with them (mostly cost) then I switched to Avail and more recently Tenant Cloud. Tenant Cloud is great, you should check it out.

David Clay · Answer

Normally, I don't like to pay. I put out a sign and take calls as they come in. Typically, people who want to live in that area will call me. My community is more rural though. 5 yrs ago I did have some success with craig's list and zillow, but zillow is now charging and I haven't attempted CL since then. Just pick up a sign from the box stores or your local hardware store and sit them out front. Within 7-10 days I will get 10+ calls about applications and such. I'm moving my applications online to Cozy and I use a google number so I don't have to be on all the time with my personal phone. Hope this helps.

Jackie Cramer · Answer

You don't find it a little pennywise and pound foolish to not pay 10.00 pet week to advertise?

In recent past a 3 line three day ad in a local daily newspaper in our NJ area was almost 50.00

Peter M. · Answer

@Latisha Grady

In the past I used Zillow which was great but havent tried since they started charging. It has always produced the highest quality leads which is why they wised up and started charging. I used facebook recently and was shocked at the responses (300+ in the first couple days) but found that very few were serious. But I did get a couple leases from it without doing the paid ads. And you can use it to some degree for screening i.e. no pets but their profile pic is them and 3 dogs...

Apartments.com and cozy were duds. I stopped doing signs a long time ago because it is just tire kickers in nearby apartments.

Account Closed · Answer

Thanks guys great feedback

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Latisha Grady

1) If money and skill were not a problem, how would you improve upon the popular listing services?Require prospect identification verification to deter fraud.

2) If listing services/marketplaces are the least of your worries, what online solution do you wish existed to make your life as a landlord easier?
AI to respond to prospects asking questions that could be answered if they weren't too lazy to read ads

And for the record, I do think signs in the yard are often all that's needed if you present in the town where your property is or have a property manager.
We stopped using signs because the percentage of inquiries that were a waste our time was significantly higher than that with online ads.

Jingru Sui · Answer

I'm using zillow manager, cozy.co and Facebook marketplace.

Kris Mann · Answer

I use Avail, which Syndicates to the Zillow network (including Trulia and Hotpads), along with a few other sites. I recently did a count on the leads; about 80% of the leads came from Zillow. I think Zillow is a no-brainer for me. While Zillow is a paid service now, it only costs $20 for the 2 weeks that I need to fill a property. Given that my rents average $2200 ($75/day), paying Zillow is totally worth it if it means I can fill the property even a day sooner. Not to mention, I heard that Zillow's paid service now includes free tenant screening, though I haven't use their tenant screening yet.

Chad Lundquist · Answer

@Latisha Grady

I've used craigslist in the past with great success, but I just started using Tenant Cloud for my property management system and they have the ability to list your property thru them. I honestly can't remember how many different platforms they post it on, but it's quite a few. You should look into Tenant Cloud. They have a service that's free, but I use the one that costs around $9/ month. The only thing I wish was better about them was their accounting - I still use Stessa for that part (they're free as well).

Good luck and let me know if I can be of any help.

Chad

SFH Landlords: What Rental Listing Platform Do You Use Most?

SFH Landlords: What Rental Listing Platform Do You Use Most?

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